Cyclorama.



No. 795,347. PATENTED JULY 25, 1905. J. H. FITCH & 0.'H. GRAHAM.

GYCLORAMA.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13. 1905.

4 BBHEETB-BHEBT 1.

WITNESSES: INVENTORS No. 795,347. PATENTBD JULY 25, 1905. J. H. PITCH &G. H. GRAHAM.

GYOLORAMA.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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JOSIAH H. FITCH AND CHARLES H. GRAHAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CYCLORAIVIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. July 25, 1905.

Application filed January 13, 1905. Serial No. 240,881.

1'0 (all w/mm, 7125 ntay concern.-

Be it known that we, JOSIAH H. F I'ICH and CHARLES H. GRAHAM, of theborough of the Bronx, city of New York, county and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cycloramas, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification.

Our invention relates to means for producing the illusion of anobservation from a moving object, such as the car of a balloon orair-ship at a considerable height, of aportion of the earths surface andthe sky cycloraniically represented and whereby several such cars may besimultaneously employed, and while the view of the said cycloramicrepresentation from each said car is unimpeded throughout its course oftravel each said car during the entire traverse of its said course oftravel is isolated and concealed from all other cars of the seriesthereof, and the desired illusion is thereby preserved and heightened.

Our invention consists in the combination, with the floor and side wallsof a building bearing the cycloramic representation of a landscape orbuildings and horizon and sky, of a track suspended from the roof of thebuilding to constitute a course or run composed of alternatelysuccessive rectilinear and laterally-curved or loop-like sections, carssuspended from and totraverse said track or course, and a canopy bearinga representation of sky hung from said roof below said track andextending throughout above the said cycloramic representation, togetherwith curtains bearing a representation of clouds pendent from saidcanopy on either side of said track and conformable in such pendencythroughout their length to the said course of the rectilinear andcurvedor loop-like sections of the track to isolate and obscure fromeach other cars which may respectively be in or upon said successivetrack-sections during their traverse thereof, butto permit an unimpededview from each said car of the aforesaid cycloramic representation onthe floor and walls; and our invention comprises the further featurehereinafter described, and more at length recited in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of a building or apparatuscontaining our invention, the roof and canopy being removed to morefully disclose features thereof. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectionalelevation of the same, including the roof and canopy, taken on the line00 0, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a lateral sec tion of the same, taken on theline z 51 Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged end view in detail of thedesirable form of car and showing the track from which it is suspendedfor traverse thereof.

Upon the floor a of a building A is indicated the representation,preferably in relief, as at a, of the buildings, &c., of a city, andupon the side walls a is hung canvas or other suitable material whichmay bear the representation (not indicated) of the landscape, horizon,and part of the sky of a cycloramic picture.

A track or runway B, which may be in the form of a trough, as shown, issuspended, as by hangers b, from the roof a of the building, and thecourse of said track or run above the described cycloramic picturedescribes or is composed of alternately-successive rectilinear sectionsb and laterally-curved or looplike sections b For convenience andeconomy in installation and operation the trackB may be given a generalcourse or direction from one end of the building to the other and backagain to the place of beginning, as indicated in Fig. 1, the buildingitself being of the adequate dimensions for this purpose.

The preferable construction of a car C, of which several are employed,as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, is illustrated in Fig. 4, each such carbeing desirably constituted of aplatform 0, provided with seats 0',extending longitudinally thereof back to back and inclosed in a netting0 as of wire, which is open at the top, as at 0 to permit the ingressand egress of passengers, the platform and its seats and netting beingsustained by rods 0*,

which suspend it from a truck 0", the wheels c of which are preferablyprovided with pneumatic tires 0 and run in the trough-like track B. Toobscure the track and the car-trucks from occupants of the car and toproduce the illusion of the gas-bag of a balloon or air-ship, a convexscreen-piece, which may be of cloth c distended on aframe 0", carried bythe rods 0*, may be interposed between the car-body and the truck, asillustrated in Fig. l, and dummy propellers 0 and steering-gear o may bemounted on the screen-piece, as shown, for like purpose.

The propulsion of the cars 0 over the course of the track B may beaccomplished by any known means for such purpose; but it is preferablyaccomplished by giving to the track in its suspension from the roof asuccession of alternate downwardly-inclined sections Z2 andupwardly-inclined sections 5*, and in order that the cars may move bygravity comparatively slowly throughout their course in simulation ofthe travel of an air-ship at acousiderable height above the earth theseinclined sections should be slight and gradual in their inclines andthey should be so proportioned in their respective lengths that theimpetus gained by a car in each descending incline will carry itover thesucceeding ascendingincline of the track.

A landing-stage for the cars is provided, as at D, in a separatecompartment of the building A, accessible by staircases (Z d torespectively permit the entrance and exit of patrons, as indicated inFigs. 1 and 2, the track B emerging from the cyclorama chamber throughan opening (Z and continuing over the landing-stage and reentering thecyclorama-chamber through another opening d, and the portions of thetrack immediately beyond these openings in the cyclorama-chainher beingpreferably hooded or inclosed in tunnel-like structures d (Zrespectively, to desirably screen the cycloramic picture fromobservation from said landingstage.

As the cars will successively approach the landing-stage D at a somewhatlower level on the track B than that at which they leave said stage whenthe described gravity-track is employed, an upwardly-inclined section ofthe track is provided at 6 leading from and uniting the lower level ofthe track with the higher, and it is intended that the cars as they thusapproach said landing-stage shall be propelled up said incline 71' bypositive power, as by an adequate crew of attendants.

A canopy E, of canvas or other suitable material, bearing arepresentation of sky, is hung from the roof (4 below the track 13 andextends throughout the cyclorama-chamber above the cycloramic picture,as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, and in carrying out the primary 'featu reof our invention we provide curtains E, which may also be of canvas orother suitable material and which depend from the canopy E on eitherside and throughout the length of and desirably at some considerabledistance away from the track B conforming in their pendency to thecourse of the described rectilinear and curved or loop-like sections 6and L thereof and of a length from the canopy downward to reach justbelow the top a of the car-nettings 0 so that while they will permit thefree and unobstructed view and observation of the cycloraniic picture bythe occupants of the several cars moving over said track they will serveto isolate and obscure from one another cars simultaneously respectivelytraversing a rectilinear section of the track on either side of andbeyond a curved or loop-like section thereof, as indicated at 1 and 2,Fig. 1, or which are simultaneously respectively traversing arectilinear and a curved or loop-like section of said track, asindicated at 3 and 4, said Fig. 1. The illusion thus produced upon thevision of the occupants of each car as it traverses the track-coursewill be that of traveling in an air-ship in or among clouds, with noobject visible near them to contrast with the size of their individualship or car nor to impair by its comparative size the illusion of greatdistance from each car to the picture of the earths surface on the floorof the cycloramachamber. In carrying out a further feature of theinvention we preferably cut away at intervals of their extent portionsof the body of the canvas or other continuate curtains E and-fill suchopenings with gauze, as shown at 6, painting the gauze to harmonize withthe clouds depicted on the curtains, and behind these gauze-openings inthe curtains we suspend determinate objects, such as stationary dummyballoons or miniature air-ships or other figures, as at a, which willthus be visible through the gauze to occupants of a passing car, andthereby when observed by them will produce the illusion to occupants ofthe cars C of distant air-ships or other said objects also navigatingthe air among the clouds.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In a cyclorama device the combination with the floor and side wallsof a building bearing a cycloramic representation, a track suspendedfrom the building-roof to constitute a course or run, composed ofalternatelysuccessive rectilinear and laterally-curved or loop-likesections, cars suspended from and to traverse said track or course, anda canopy bearing a sky-picture hung below the track and extendingthroughout and above the cycloramic representation, ofcurtains bearingcloud-pictures, pendent from said canopy on either side of said trackthroughout its length, conformable to the described course thereof andof an extent to permit 'an unobstructed view of the cycloramic picturefrom the several cars traversing said track while they serve to isolateand obscure from each other cars simultaneously respectively traversingsaid described track-sections.

2. In a cyclorama, the combination with a car suspended from and totraverse a track over and above a cycloramic representation, ofcontinuate curtains pendent upon either side, throughout the length andconformable to the course of said track, and havinggauzed apertures atintervals of their length, together with determinate objects suspendedor fixed behind said gauzed apertures in said curtains.

JOSIAH H. FITCH. CHARLES H. GRAHAM.

Witnesses:

FRANK E. BRUGMAN, FRANK. A. CERRUTI.

